This invention is an improvement on my earlier invention for repair flange, U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,302 which issued on Dec. 12, 1989. While the aforesaid invention has been received very favorably, there have arisen situations wherein the design described therein is not adequate for the task.
Like the former invention this invention relates to the attachment of toilet bowls to the floor system where the connection is made to the drain pipe. The purpose and function of the repair flange is described in my aforesaid patent 4,886,302, and that material is incorporated herein by reference.
The improvements in this application are directed to ten items:
1) Offset openings PA1 2) Slots PA1 3) Guide marks stamped into the parts PA1 4) Countersunk spacers or washers PA1 5) Sizing of flange sections PA1 6) Extended Planar surface PA1 7) Modified Planar surface with attached gasket PA1 8) Support board under the flooring PA1 9) Fastening repair flanges to the floor with hollow wall anchors or toggle bolts, PA1 10) Closet rings
The improvements in this invention provide a more useful, versatile and effective product that not only provides solutions to common problems outlined in the aforesaid patent regarding the repair of loose closet flanges and toilets, but also address situations where closet flanges are made in a variety of sizes and shapes. In my prior patent the repair flanges were adapted to only one size closet flange. One of the most common problems is the size of a closet flange for different size drain pipes, for example 3 inch and 4 inch drain pipes, the neck of the flanges being about 51/4" to 55/8". Another involves the variable thickness of casting materials that comprise the drain pipe on the neck of a closet flange. The problem arises because the attachment rim of the closet flange is about the same size on all such flanges. Since the screw holes in the rim of a closet flange are located about the same distance from the outside diameter of the flange the screw hole location on the rim of a closet flange with a 55/8" neck is located closer to the drain pipe or neck beneath the attachment rim of the closet flange. For example one type of closet flange has just 3/8" between the outer periphery of the screw hole and the neck of the flange. Another type such as a cast iron flange has only 1/8" between the neck and the screw hole. On the other hand, the opening between two repair flanges with adjacent inner edges is 51/4. In this situation for the repair flange to fit tight against the neck of the closet flange and have proper alignment with the screw holes in the closet flange, it is necessary to offset the opening between the repair flange. Then the overall length from one side of the repair flange to the other would be 71/2, the opening between the flanges would be circular and the distance from the inner edge of the closet flange neck to the outside edge of the repair flange would be 15/16". When the repair flanges are adjacent each other at the inner edge, the overall distance would be 71/8" and the opening would be elliptical. In the case of a closet flange with a 51/4" neck diameter, it was found that because of a possibility of misalginment, that it would be preferable to change the circular opening between the repair flanges to an elliptical opening with the major axis vertically oriented and slightly larger than the minor axis. If the situation occurred where the closet flange was seriously misaligned with respect to the toilet bowl base, the best solution in addition to the elliptical opening would be to stagger the repair flanges. It was also recognized that when the inner edges of the repair flanges are adjacent each other, they must not lap. Otherwise there might be damage to the cross webbing under the toilet bowl base, as elevation caused by the lapping would tend to raise the cross webbing and tilt the toilet bowl.
This application is directed to an enhancement of item No. 10 pertaining to the use of closet rings and listed above as one of the approvements of application Ser. No. 719,942. The purpose of the closet ring is to enable satisfactory contact between the toilet bowl and closet flange. As often happens after installation of a new closet flange, this member might well be below floor level. To raise the closet flange to a position somewhat above floor level, a closet ring is placed over the closet flange. Now in many cases one ring per se which measures about 1/4" thick is insufficient to raise the closet flange above floor level so that one or more additional rings might be required. Examples of prior art which are directed to this problem are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,384,910 and 5,018,224. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,010 generally a bead of mastic must be applied between the closet flange and the ring described in this Patent as an extension collar, as well as each succeeding ring to establish a good seal. One of the disadvantages of such type sealant is that it takes considerable time for the sealant to take effect so that there is a time lag between the placement of the sealant and the installation of the toilet bowl. Another disadvantage is that a separate container of sealant is required with each set of rings. As an improvement on this device U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,224 claims self sealing stackable collar wherein each collar has a conical opening. Like 4,384,910 the collar is made of resilient plastic and is tapered so that it fits down into a succeeding collar. When the collars are fastened together, there is a seal produced between each collar by virtue of the creation of a wedging effect. Thus there is no need for the use of sealant between the collars. While there is no disclosure to that effect, it is quite obvious that some sealant has to be placed between the first collar and closet flange. Applicant's improvement consists of using a plurality of plastic rings of the type shown in FIG. 13 wherein each ring has affixed thereto an instant bending material that by merely applying pressure instantaneously seals the closet flange and any succeeding ring to each other. The closet rings with the affixed bonding material are packaged with a release strip attached to the bonding material to prevent accidental bonding between the rings. The package also may contain toilet bowls with washers and nuts as well as retainers to hold the bolts in place.